Whither discipline?

Calls are mounting to apply the full force of the law on State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, who resigned recently from his portfolio of Prison Management after the country’s main Tamil parties accused him of subjecting inmates at the Anuradhapura prison to degrading treatment and threatening violence against them.

The shocking allegations, which first surfaced in media reports, were subsequently confirmed by Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) Leader Gajen Ponnambalam who said the State Minister had forced Tamil inmates to kneel before him and then threatened to kill them with his personal firearm. Ponnambalam has demanded the Minister’s immediate removal from office, and the Tamil National Alliance has joined the call, also demanding the arrest of Minister Ratwatte. Though Ratwatte resigned from his portfolio on prisons he remains a State Minister for Gem and Jewellery.

The Anuradhapura prison incident was the State Minister’s second infraction over the course of a weekend. Media reports surfaced previously that he had forcibly entered the Welikada prison in Colombo with a group of friends for a sightseeing excursion. The group were inebriated, and the State Minister had forced his way to death row and the gallows. Prison authorities have denied all knowledge of the incident. After the incident at Welikada prison was reported, former Commissioner for the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Ambika Satkunanathan has highlighted the need to immediately secure all evidence, including CCTV footage related to the incident. This action becomes even more crucial considering the much more serious allegations against the State Minister at the Anuradhapura prison on Sunday (12) night. Preventing the destruction of evidence is paramount to ensuring the allegations are seriously investigated and the State Minister held criminally liable and relieved of his position if they are proved to be true.

The State Minister’s conduct, while shocking, should not be the cause of surprise to anyone in Sri Lanka. The SLPP Kandy District Parliamentarian is the son of former Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte and notorious for thuggish conduct over the several decades he has been involved in politics. As a young man, Lohan Ratwatte was indicted for the massacre of 10 Muslim civilians in Udatalawinna. The massacre took place on election day in 2001, and his father was also accused of abetting the brutal murders. Both father and son were later acquitted, but a CID investigation had revealed their involvement in the crime. The stench of corruption, notoriety and violence has followed the now powerful State Minister over the years, which begs questions about President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decision to include MP Ratwatte in his Government and offer him a plumb ministerial job. The portfolio was removed from Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, a professional and community physician, and bestowed upon MP Ratwatte. With his chequered past, the Kandy District MP’s appointment as State Minister for Prisons Management was highly suspect and worrisome from the outset. It appeared that the President was choosing a particular brand of politician to “keep prisoners in line,” by any means necessary. To that end, he certainly appears to have picked the right man for the job. The State Minister’s alleged action to threaten Tamil prisoners could well be hailed in some quarters of the ruling regime which are antithetical to minority rights. It is heartening that per some news reports Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa called Ratwatte from Italy and urged him to step down in light of the allegations. It was also a good sign that the President immediately accepted the resignation. But the seriousness of the charges against the State Minister demand much more than a mere slap on the wrist. It would be in the President’s best interest to ensure a swift and independent investigation into the alleged violence inside the Anuradhapura prison and the high jinks in Welikada over the weekend. After all, purported leaders who pledged to bring about a ‘disciplined society’ have a duty to act even – or perhaps especially – against their own. Sadly, less than two years into the term of the “technocratic” Viyathmaga Government, no one in Sri Lanka is holding their breath.